Hall of Fame

Neill: 'This is about the country'

A new era begins tomorrow for the Socceroos and leading from the front will be captain, Lucas Neill.

A new era begins tomorrow for the Socceroos and leading from the front will be captain, Lucas Neill.

"This is not about any individual, in fact it's not even about the team now, it's about the country," said Neill.

"We're in exciting times, six months out from a FIFA World Cup and it's about Australia, it's about everybody.

"I'll be honoured to lead the team out again tomorrow night if that is the case, but there's more important things.

"We have to get off to Ange Postecoglou's era in a very positive way, we've tried to buy in to all the things he's been talking about this week in training.

"It's up to us now to embrace that and try and go out to perform the best we can, in the manner he expects."

Ange Postecoglou today confirmed that Neill will become Australia's most-capped captain of all-time at Allianz Stadium - the 35-year-old set to lead his country for the record-breaking 61st time.

"He's (Neill) played almost 100 times for his country, he's an absolute great of our nation in terms of our sport," said Postecoglou.

"I guess because of that there is a more deep seeded fascination with it (the captaincy).

"This is my game number one and in terms of the priorities, my responsibility is to make the best decisions and form the right priorities so that we represent ourselves well on the world stage."

Beyond the captaincy, however, Postecoglou is hoping to see evidence of the football philosophy he has tried to impart to his charges throughout his first week in camp.

The Socceroos are aiming for a win, and a performance, that will have Australians optimistic about their country's chances in Brazil and beyond.

"We want to leave this camp knowing that within the consciousness of our players, and our staff, everyone involved, that we've laid some foundation, which means that next time we get together, we can move on from here rather than go back to step one."